WHO Launches First Consolidated Operational Handbook on STIs
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first consolidated operational handbook on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This comprehensive guide aims to help countries strengthen STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care within their health systems.
The handbook offers practical guidance for programme managers, policymakers, clinicians, and community organizations. It translates WHO recommendations into operational approaches for implementing and integrating high-quality STI services within primary health care and universal health coverage frameworks.
Addressing a Pressing Global Need
The initiative addresses a growing need for actionable guidance, particularly as over 1 million new curable STIs are acquired daily worldwide. The global burden of STIs continues to be substantial.
Over 1 million new curable STIs are acquired daily worldwide, underscoring the urgent need for consolidated guidance and robust health system responses.
In 2022, estimated syphilis cases rose to 8 million globally, including about 700,000 cases of congenital syphilis, highlighting the critical importance of effective prevention and treatment strategies.
Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO's Department for HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, and STIs, emphasized the handbook's significance:
"This handbook provides a single operational reference, consolidating all WHO guidance on STI prevention and care. It offers practical tools adaptable to various settings."
Key Features of the Operational Handbook
The new operational handbook is designed with several crucial features to facilitate its implementation:
- Consolidation of Guidance: Gathers all WHO normative and operational guidance on STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, and service delivery published between 2016 and 2025 into a single, accessible document.
- STI Prevention and Care Cascade: Introduces a structured framework that maps patient engagement with health systems, from primary prevention to partner management. This framework also helps identify common program shortcomings.
- Integrated Services: Provides operational package-based guidance for integrating STI services within primary health care, community services, and other essential health platforms such as HIV, sexual and reproductive health, adolescent health, and maternal and child health.
- Antimicrobial Stewardship: Addresses antimicrobial stewardship for treatment, aligning with the WHO Global action plan to control antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
- Emerging Interventions: Includes implementation guidance for new and critical interventions, such as doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and mpox vaccination for at-risk populations.
- Sustainable Financing: Situates STI service delivery within the context of sustainable financing, responding to shifts from external donor support to domestic resource mobilization.
Promoting Equitable Access and Integrated Care
STIs remain among the most common infections globally, yet access to essential services often falls short. This handbook provides countries with a clear path to strengthen STI services within primary health care, promoting equitable access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It signifies a crucial step towards integrated, people-centered services that can effectively address the ongoing global challenge of STIs.